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Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter

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Defense &
National Security

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The Big Story

All eyes on Hegseth nomination hearing

Get ready for a show as Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Pentagon, will head back to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee having met previously with numerous Republican senators on the panel but only one Democrat in the weeks since Trump on Nov. 12 first announced his intended pick to lead the Defense Department.

Democrats have cried foul in the days leading up to the hearing, claiming Hegseth has refused to make himself available to them in the same way he has GOP lawmakers, and has failed to provide key vetting information as they look into a series of scandals and scathing media reports on the Army veteran.

Hegseth’s camp has hit back on that allegation, asserting he has reached out to all Senate Democrats starting well before the Christmas holiday — and in some cases before Thanksgiving — but that many did not respond or declined to meet with him until the eleventh hour.

What’s more, on Saturday the top two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee — Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) — were briefed by transition officials late Friday afternoon for more than an hour regarding the FBI’s findings on Hegseth from its background check, a Congressional aide confirmed to The Hill.

But several Democrats on the Armed Services panel said they remained concerned they don’t have sufficient information to question Hegseth come Tuesday, including Sens. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.). There’s also worry the FBI’s background check into Hegseth may not have been thorough, and that it took far too long to get to the committee.

Hegseth has frequented the Capitol while seeking to secure his nomination, meeting with key senators, including a handful in the GOP who have expressed some skepticism or concern over his past behavior and controversial remarks.

Hegseth can only afford three GOP defections to still be confirmed, should every Democrat and Independent senator vote against him. CBS News reported last week that Thune privately told the incoming president he believes Hegseth has the GOP vote clinched.

But even some of Hegseth’s supporters have warned the process will be unpleasant, given Hegseth’s alleged history of womanizing, heavy drinking and financial mismanagement.

Several more potentially explosive nomination hearings are on the books this week, including for Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) to be the next homeland security secretary, former Sen. Marco Rubio to be the next secretary of state, and John Ratcliffe to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency; all take place Wednesday morning.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

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Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:

Biden names Navy aircraft carriers after Clinton, Bush

President Biden on Monday named Navy aircraft carriers after former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. “I am proud to announce that the next two Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be named for two former presidents: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush,” Biden said in a statement on Monday. “When I personally delivered the news to Bill and George, they were deeply humbled,” the president added. “Each …

Full Story

Jake Sullivan: ‘We are so close’ to ceasefire, hostage deal in Gaza

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday the U.S. is “so close to a ceasefire and hostage deal” in Gaza, as President Biden races to secure an agreement on a major foreign policy objective before leaving office in a week. “Number one, we are so close to a ceasefire and hostage deal, and I think there is a very distinct possibility that we get it across the line this week, before President Biden leaves …

Full Story

Ukraine not yet in strong position for peace talks: NATO chief

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Monday that Ukraine was not yet in a strong position to begin peace talks with Russia ahead of President-elect Trump taking office next week with a pledge to end the war. Rutte told the European Parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committees the hope was to ensure Ukraine has adequate security guarantees so that Russia could not attack again, but he expressed doubt that the …

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Gingrich: Afghans who fought alongside Americans should get ‘unusual level of support and treatment’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Sunday that Afghans who fought alongside Americans “against the Taliban” should get “an unusual level of support and treatment.” “As you know, with that chaotic exit, there were tens of thousands of Afghans scattered, some of them still separated from their families,” CBS News’s Margaret Brennan said on “Face the Nation,” noting the late 2021 Afghanistan …

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On Our Radar

Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat:

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the expected nomination of Peter Hegseth to be secretary of Defense at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. Follow along at The Hill for live coverage.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will consider the nomination of Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) to be homeland security secretary, at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on the anticipated nomination of former Sen. Marco Rubio to be the next secretary of state at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The Senate Select Intelligence Committee will consider the nomination of John Ratcliffe to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency also at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

David Weiss condemns pardon, defends record in Hunter Biden prosecution report

Special Counsel David Weiss defended his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation in a final report capping his multi-year investigation into the president’s son. Weiss also pushed back against President Biden’s decision to pardon his son as he was facing both tax and gun charges in two different …

Full Story

On Tap Tomorrow

Events in and around the defense world:

The U.S. Institute of Peace, American Enterprise Institute, Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for American Progress, and Heritage Foundation will hold a joint virtual discussion on “Passing the Baton: Securing America’s Future in an Era of Strategic Competition,” with national security adviser Jake Sullivan; national security adviser-designate to President-elect Trump Michael Waltz; and former national security adviser Stephen Hadley, at 12:30 p.m.
The Intelligence and National Security Alliance will have an online conversation on “Growing nation-state threats to Western emerging tech firms,” with NCSC Director Michael Casey, at 1 p.m.
The Atlantic Council will discuss “Maximizing the impact of special operation forces for future strategic challenges,” with Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, at 2 p.m

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Hegseth could lead troops who’d face getting fired for actions he’s done in the past (The Associated Press)
Pete Hegseth says US military bases should restore names of Confederate generals (CNN)
Trump’s pick for top Pentagon health care job was fired by CIA (SpyTalk)

Trending Today

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Biden announces student debt relief for 150,000 borrowers, bringing total helped to more than 5M

The Biden administration announced Monday it was forgiving student loans for more than 150,000 borrowers, bringing the total number of individuals … Read more

Cannon allows for release of Smith report on Trump election interference

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday allowed the release of the volume of special counsel Jack Smith’s report dealing with Donald Trump’s efforts … Read more

Opinions in The Hill

Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:

Some of these mysterious ‘drones’ are indeed UFOs and should be taken seriously
In Kursk, the Ukrainian invasion is back
Pete Hegseth fails to embody military professionalism